After a subpar outing in relief last week, the lefty rebounded with his strongest performance –– and start –– of the spring, tossing four scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory over the Yankees.
“I felt pretty good, my mechanics were unbelievable today,” Doubront said. “I felt very good and showed what I got. I showed [Red Sox manager] Bobby [Valentine] and [pitching coach Bob McClure] that I have something there.”
The Yankees hitters learned that lesson pretty quickly. In Doubront’s four frames, he surrendered only two hits and fanned three batters. It marked the first time the southpaw had been stretched into the fourth.
During the process, Doubront also received experience against a lineup that featured Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Although Doubront yielded a walk and single to Rodriguez, he still savored the seasoning.
“I wanted to hit him with a four-seamer and see how he would react,” Doubront said of Rodriguez. “In the [second at-bat], I threw off-speed stuff to really feel him out and see how he would adjust his swing. It’s still spring training, but when the regular season comes around, I want to know how to pitch to him.”
Doubront achieved better success against Teixeira. In two at-bats on Tuesday, the Yankees first baseman grounded out to Doubront and into a 5-4-3 double play, which drew raves from catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
“He’s got such great stuff that he can really throw any pitch, any time,” Saltalamacchia said. “I wanted to make sure he attacked the hitters, go after them and not try to nitpick. His stuff is so good.”
His outing against the Yankees was relatively extensive. For the game, Doubront tossed 75 pitches –– 49 for strikes –– but said his location and command improved as the innings went on.
After the victory, Valentine applauded the Venezuelan hurler’s progression.
“I thought Felix was outstanding,” Valentine said. “I thought he had really good control of his changeup, which is a devastating pitch for him. He had good command and control of his fastball. His breaking ball was good. His composure was good. He pitched four good innings.”
Michael Bowden replaced Doubront in the fifth inning.
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